Loyalty
Sir Humphrey Appleby
Good morning gents o/,
Why do you still play the game? I’d be interested in your own reasons if you’re prepared to share with us here in the comments.
Recently in the eUK we’ve seen the escapades of ‘British Patriots’ on their way to the top spot spark a few feelers on this. In an almost ironic state of affairs, we ourselves are generally content to let our national community sink further so long as random foreigners are not the ones doing the drilling.
It prompts the imagery of a ruined church that we inexplicably still attend for service. We are content and even conditioned to observe the general collapse all around us; but for whatever reason, this is our collapse. Our heap of rubble. And the threat of someone taking that away from us breaks the usual silence.
Why?
It has generally been accepted, for at least the last half decade, that any activity is good activity. For those old enough to remember V1, they can confirm we are living in the shadow of shadows. We are slowly but surely losing our ‘core’. Seemingly nothing can break the stalemate of disillusion in the game and disinterest in developing or even sustaining our community.
There seems to be a last few of us that may take a break and “check out”, but never truly leave.
As if to prove the point, here’s a reprint of my Francis Fukuyama moment written over 7 years ago that still seems relevant. I'd be interested if you think any of the points made have changed much.
Have a read. I tended to write a bit better in those days anyway, if you'll forgive the jamesw-style bolding that I've decided to leave in...
The end of an era
Good afternoon ladies and gents o/,
Today’s article is dedicated to Horice and all the other members of our community that have either left the eUK or eRepublik altogether. We should reflect on the colossal amount of past work that has been invested into our national community by players from all over the globe, the majority of which are no longer with us. I will try and echo in this article why we are seeing more and more people either leave, become disinterested or simply disillusioned to the point their efforts for our country are minimal.
The most obvious root factor is the mechanics of the game itself. Actual strategy has been reduced to a playground state of affairs. The economic module effectively gives no room for newer players to establish themselves without a considerable investment of real, as opposed to virtual, funds. The war module is exactly the same. Your base damage, strength, is reliant on boosters that are wholly disproportionate to any viable economic income from the game itself. Again, the only way you can establish yourself is through real money.
The basic philosophy of these modules means that political parties are irrelevant, as there is only one way of doing things. Parties are now nothing more than micro-communities within our own national one. Competing ideologies are dead in favour of whoever has the most gold to spend on companies, advertisements and incentives for people to join any one political party. More people join a certain party because of the people already there, rather than the principles and policy that these groups supposedly stand for. This is because of the death of anything to apply these principles to. The only viable policy is hoarding more gold.
The community aspect has always been considered strong in the eUK; however, there was only a certain amount of time where the new modules of the game would finally erode the institutions built on former versions; where community projects, games and discussions die out due to lack of anything to base them on. The simplicity of the market, the complete devaluation of currency thanks to Platobot, and the poor national damage that most countries in this game commands inevitably leads to a lack of interest. A lack of interest is what kills those communities based off the game.
An incentive to kindly continue reading
We should consider the actions of the game itself. We are embroiled in misplaced national pride on the issue of Kosovo. Communities that stood together in alliances are ripped apart by issues that should not arise on this game. Bitterness, ultimatums and a general shitstorm in the Balkans once again successfully derails any cross-community projects and interest on the global stage. More gold is spent on winning completely irrelevant wars, more bots are created and medium to small countries like the eUK become increasingly immaterial.
What we are effectively left with is the end of any real value of history for the eUK. The politics the players in the game create may still be recorded, but the lack of strategy and ability for the community to feel any real meaning effectively results in a slow death of inertia and disinterest. The game is divided into the new that have no hope of matching some people’s influence, and the old who become increasingly discontented and disenchanted. As more and more notable contributors to our community leave, we are left with a country that is struggling to fill the gaps and effectively find the energy to give the punch we once had the unity to give.
The draconian and empty headedness of the auditors that run this game are apparent to even the newborn. The sheer lack of hope of any real update, improvement or chance of change has successfully disheartened those that have been contributing for years. What is the point in going out of your way and spending a considerable amount of your time for something that will have virtually no impact on anything? Just how prepared is the average sign up willing to sit in the side-lines for a game that has no recognition of individual creativity and independent thought?
We have entered a vicious circle where less and less people are prepared to step up to the requirements of operating a country fully like the eUK. We are left with poor services, armed forces, political parties and a defunct media. We are left with no vigour or confidence to continue our irrelevance. We have ultimately reached the end of our history.
Just a thought.
Appleby
The utopia the game was supposed to be
Comments
I like Lego.
Good article.
UK has as much potential as Ireland does, all you need to do is find proper, honest people to run the reform and things will turn out well for ya there.
Too many people are set in there own ways and most just out for there own pleasure for good stuff to happen.
https://www.dictionary.com/e/their-there-theyre/ 😉
im only lego
As always, even in RL, it all starts with the quality of people.
You can have the greatest people in the world here, it'll do very little. Those that don't care enough also have their claws in deep enough to keep themselves around but refuse to do anything that helps more than themselves.
Everybody wants someone else to do the work.
I for one praise our new foreign overlords. As I've said before, it's going to be fun to watch them fall as there's nothing up top to keep people there and the eUK are very good at getting long term wiped :>
Cherry you make it sound like you're not the most useless person around. You claim to care, but have no ideas and won't do any work. So basically the people you vaguely reference in your typically passive aggressive post are actually far more active and useful than you are.
Spite, why do you have to launch into an attack instantly? I have told everyone i'm useless, no need to carry on pretending to be a bully 😉
The point Mr Cherry is making is - how can those of us who are 2nd rate (at best) possibly hope to emulate now successes that those who are 1st rate achieved in the good times but have not been able to replicate now?
Success is relevant to the time, Paul. You can't judge glories of past years on glories of the future. The 2nd rate lot (as you put it) seem afraid to take up the mantle and run with it. Those that are 1st rate are jaded, have made too many enemies and have few friends left in the game to rally the troops.
You won't be seen as a failure because you didn't defeat 5 NE's and defend against an Air Strike during your term, you;ll be seen as a failure because you were too afraid to even try.
I was hoping to get to Legend and had the time-frame down to a couple of months a few weeks back, but the current estimate has gone out to 6,660 days - so might still be before our MP's get round to delivering what we voted for 3 years ago!
Ultimately though if nothing is happening internationally other than a couple of countries reshuffling their alliance membership every few months, then there's nothing of value or interest to be fought about.
Do you have to talk about brexit everywhere...
As far as the newcomers to the eUK are concerned - much will depend on their intentions and whether they have support within other groups or parties. Ultimately though even if they were intent on a full PTO, defeating them would not achieve anything if there is nothing of value to the eUK as it currently exists.
Appleby preparing for a CP run?
am I overdue the ritual humiliation of it?
Iain preparing for a CP run?
Nah I can't even be bothered to nominate myself for Congress atm never mind CP. As much fun as it would be to have another dictatorship...
I'm waiting for you to all die. Then I'll roll around in eGold and cc until I get bored, idk, 5min.
Blame it on Brex.. Oreo Exit.
https://imgur.com/s0YZuhT
I'm logging in because it just became a routine after so many years, in hope maybe the game will actually change. Don't care about much else happening around, all TWs, basically FarmVille. This PTO thing is just a little bit annoying now because stronger and more organised groups failed in the past, it would just be embarrassing to be PTOed by Pargali...
The game itself is boring and has no real future whatsoever.
The social aspect of the game keeps me coming back.
PTO threat to eUK?
A good joke.
that's the problem indeed, the evolution of the game has killed all need for communities
I gave up playing years ago, I only log on here so I can sit and watch porn at work for hours on end and if anyone looks over my shoulder I can flip open this page and tell them I'm conducting a study into online text based gaming.
Horice 😬
I'm the co-author
I just log on to bring light in times of darkness. You're welcome.
vote
Friends.
Im too stubborn to be playing this game almost everyday of the last 8 years and suddenly stop!
I want to go down with this ship...and discovering the great Pirate Cat Party along the way helped, having a laugh helps staying for another drink xD
and people wonder what we add to the community?
For me was a sense of community, I was playing just by myself for a while now.
Really wasnt expecting to find it on another country other my own nor in a MU/Party known for being rude and Trolls. But for far right extremists you guys welcomed me, a foreigner, really well!
Thx for everything!
I honestly don’t know what I’m still doing here
The effective death of at least the eUK is pretty sad; eRepublik seems to be a fusion of social media and strategy game which had the potential to be very successful and interesting (which it sort of was for a long time). Just a shame that Plato seems to only be interested in turning it into a cash farm and developing random mobile games.
hello there, mr humphrey!
well, this was a beautiful, detailed and (sadly) accurate article about the death of the game.
as for ''why do you still play/stay in this game''?
i have many reasons, but the most important ones are:
-my friends, who make this game better, and whom i enjoy reading their posts+articles...
-the drama ocassionaly seen in each community and in various e-countries, which is either interesting, entertaining or delightfully horrifying to watch...
-to keep fighting in some battles, in hopes to get a good score/medal/achievements
-and to reach 1000 subscribers to my newspaper, in order to get that damn ''media mogul'' medal, which is now impossible to earn...
(seriously, did it had to be 1000 subs? in today's numbers? the first MM medal should be at 100-200 subs, tops.
the next MM medals could have higher subs requirements, and as such, this would've been a better/more well-rounded medal to earn in this game...
also, i should add, that this game needs badly MORE QUESTS.
(easy, moderate and hard quests, which would give small, moderate and rich rewards accordingly).
also, apart from new, and for more quests, the game should add more medals+achievements for each new successful little quest won/or for doing various requirements in-game (subscribing to 100 people's newpapers, for example, or adding 10 friends, etc etc).
also, more countries should be added.
san marino, monaco, andorra, mongolia... i could list some more... but we NEED more countries in the game.
it could spark some activity for a while.
(just like the cuba, e-nigeria and armenia did for a short while)
also, they should add space-missions too, where each country would get a region's bonus in materials, for each conquered region in the moon/in mars.
(an extra mechanic of the game, such as a ''space race'', which could be a permanent, and fun new part of the game, in order to further emphasize on the ''epic strategy game'' theme.)
anyway, you wrote a very good article, and i really liked your writting.
stay cool
PS: at some point of your article, you've said that, and i quote you:
''if you'll forgive the jamesw-style bolding that I've decided to leave in...''
OK, what do you mean by the ''jamesw-style'' bolding?
who is this ''jamesw'' guy, and whats his story?
indeed tho, bolding some letters helps on emphasizing on things.
its nice.